Sunday, March 23, 2014

It’s no Longer a Dream by Sanjeev Ranjan

Snapshot:“Does love manage to find a way, even when all illusions fade? Where does the journey end?”

Akshat Diwan has everything that the tangible world can offer for dream-like life- luxurious cars, a palatial mansion, extravagant wealth and an heirloom of infinite opulence. All but peace! His parents are forever in a state of prolonged hostility; add to it failing spurious friendships and dwindling love life which metamorphoses him into a soul-less creature. Cursing his misfortune and in an attempt to end his anguish and disparity, Akshat embarks on an unknown journey, seeking nothing but solitude, or perhaps a glimpse of his inner being. It is when he meets a stranger that he realizes his journey is not just a journey, but a roller coaster ride to unravel the harsh realities of life.

It’s no Longer a Dream is all about collecting the shattered pieces of meaning of life, love and relationships and bringing them back to a whole again.

Review:The book ‘It’s no Longer a Dream’ is divided into three parts. The first part introduces the protagonist Akshat Diwan, his sumptuousness along with his loneliness, his girlfriend Naina and a glance at his conundrum past. The second part (my favorite) introduces Randhir who meets Akshat on a train journey. There is a convincing camaraderie drawn by the author between Akshat and Randhir. The book gets interesting and captivating with the start of Randhir and Radhika’s bright young naive romance soon after an arranged marriage. The author has beautifully etched the incredibly sweet, ticklish, warm and full of life moments where their love story blooms like a rose expanding leaf by leaf. There are few cute and innocent scenes that automatically bring a sweet smile like Radhika dancing in rain, Randhir cooking for her and Naina waking up Akshat. The characters are very well drawn. The metaphors and similes have been fantastically used absorbing the beauty and liveliness literally taking the reader in the scene.

The author has remarkably intertwined the lives of Akshat and Randhir with the flashes of Akshat with his girlfriend Naina. The second half of the book picks up steam and the story suddenly takes a twist with the shudder in Randhir and Radhika’s life. The third part of the book has conveyed the depth of feelings and situations during the climax that left me teary eyed. The journey with Randhir ends up in an emotional, literal and self awakening manner for Akshat dotting a clear closure bringing a meaning to his outlandish life. The title is pretty apt and the cover picture perfect portraying two human faces, two chairs and a Bonfire bringing the protagonist Akshat and Randhir closer to collecting the pieces of their bizarre life.

Positives:It’s a tempestuous, refreshingly poignant and mature enough story conveying a subtle nuance of love, marriage and relationships.

Negatives:To point out specifically, there is one nominal glitch of some printing errors in some pages.

Verdict:I would go with 4 out of 5 stars to- It’s no Longer a Dream placing it in ‘A good and delightful read’ shelf.

About the Author:A non-conformist by nature and an engineer by profession, Sanjeev Ranjan is the bestselling author of In Course of True Love! An ardent lover of western classic and instrumental music, he enjoys reading. He has a keen interest in understanding human behavior and relationships. This is his second novel.

This book has been reviewed by Shaily Bhargava who is an avid reader, freelance writer,
amateur photographer and a trait curious soul addicted to tea and coffee. Some
of her short stories are published in online literary magazines of repute.